1642 – The first regularly constituted presbytery in Ireland constituted by Scottish army chaplains meets at Carrickfergus.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Rebels capture Maynooth in Leinster and Bangor in Ulster.

1834 – Alfred Webb, writer and traveller, is born in Dublin.

1842 – The first number of James MacKnight’s “Banner of Ulster”, the newspaper of the Presbyterian Church, is published in Ulster.

1854 – Birth of feminist writer, Sarah Grand, born Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke in Donaghdee, Co Down, where her father was stationed as a naval lieutenant. In 1888, she privately and anonymously published her first novel, Ideala. One of her most noted fans was George Bernard Shaw.

1904 – James Joyce meets the love of his life, Nora Barnacle.

1912 – Birth of Mary Josephine Lavin, a noted Irish short story writer and novelist. She is regarded as a pioneering female author in the traditionally male-dominated world of Irish letters.

1919 – Birth of athlete, Kevin Patrick O’Flanagan, in Dublin. He is also referred to as Dr. Kevin O’Flanagan, being a sportsman, physician and sports administrator. An outstanding all-rounder, he represented his country at both soccer and rugby union.

1921 – Seven Waterford IRA men were captured when a party of Marines, having crossed from Youghal by boat to Ferrypoint by night, surprised them near Piltown, Co Kilkenny.

1944 – Death of politician, journalist, intelligence agent and paramilitary activist, Frank Ryan. Born in Limerick, he was the organiser and leader of the 200 Irishmen who went to Spain to fight against Franco and fascism in 1936.

1953 – Garry Hynes, theatre director, is born in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon. She holds the distinction of being the first female to win the prestigious Tony Award for direction of a play. She is a co-founder of the Druid Theatre Company with Mick Lally and Marie Mullen in 1975 after meeting through the drama society of NUI Galway where they studied. She was Druid’s artistic director from 1975 to 1991, and again from 1995 to date. Hynes directed for the Abbey Theatre from 1984 and was its artistic director from 1991 to 1994, and also the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Exchange, Manchester, the Kennedy Center and the Royal Court Theatre, London.

1955 – Designer, Bob Crowley, is born in Co Cork.

1967 – Birth of Sinn Féin politician, Paul John Maskey. He served as a Sinn Féin member (MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West from 2007 to 2012. He is currently Member of Parliament (MP) for the Westminster constituency of Belfast West, but in line with Sinn Féin’s policy of abstentionism he has not taken his seat there.

1969 – Birth Breandán de Gallaí, AKA Brendan de Gallaí or Brendan Galway in Gweedore, Co Donegal. He is a former professional Irish dancer who is most famous for his lead role in Riverdance and as a TV personality on TG4. He is currently a dance director for Riverdance and an artistic director for the Ériu Dance Company.

1981 – Eight IRA prisoners on remand escaped form the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast. The prisoners used three handguns, which had been smuggled into the prison, to hold prison officers hostage before taking their uniforms and shooting their way out of the prison.

1983 – Following the election of Gerry Adams, Vice-President of Sinn Féin, as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Belfast, William Whitelaw, British Home Secretary, lifted the ban on him entering Britain.

1986 – Belfast-born Patrick Joseph Magee, is found guilty of planting the Brighton bomb which killed five people and nearly wiped out most of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet.

1986 – Birth of singer and songwriter, Keith Harkin, in Co Derry. Harkin is part of Celtic Thunder, performing in the United States, Canada and Australia. Celtic Thunder has had two #1 selling DVDs and three #1 selling albums on the World Billboard charts. He plays the guitar and piano and wrote “Lauren and I” for Celtic Thunder. Harkin has now recorded more original songs apart from Celtic Thunder; some titles include: “How I Wish”, “Daisy Fields”, “Vanity”, “September Sessions”, and “All Day Long”.

1986 – Bob Geldof and John Paul Getty II, are made honorary knights by Queen Elizabeth II.

1993 – It was confirmed that Jean Kennedy Smith, sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, would be the next American Ambassador to Ireland.

1997 – Jimmy Kennedy, composer of many popular songs including “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” and “Did Your Mother Come from Ireland”, is inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

1998 – To mark the acquisition of the Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Collection of Irish Poetry, which comprises more than 1,100 printed works by 50 poets from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, an exhibit of materials from the collection goes on display in the Firestone Library at Princeton University.

1998 – Shannon Regional Fisheries Board investigate the mystery cause of a major fish kill on Loch Gara, one of the best-known coarse angling lakes on the Sligo and Roscommon border.

1999 – RTÉ’s ‘Prime Time’ programme claimed that both Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers and Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers were involved in a gun and bomb attack on 19 December 1975 at the Silverbridge Inn, Co Armagh, in which three people were killed. At the time the attack was claimed by the Red Hand Commando (RHC).

2000 – World-famous Irish tenor, Frank Patterson, dies suddenly at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. Mr Patterson makes his first public appearance as a boy soprano in his hometown of Clonmel and attracts the attention of critics when he wins all the major Feis Ceoil vocal awards. In his lifetime, Mr. Patterson records more than 35 albums which feature a broad range of songs.

2003 – More than 1,000 taxi drivers protest in Dublin City Centre over the Government’s failure to appoint a permanent regulator for the industry.

2011 – Death of Brian Joseph Lenihan, an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He had been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency since 1996. He served as Minister for Finance from 2008-11, and as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform from 2007-08.

2015 – Death of Fr. Ray Reidy. He had most served as a curate in Ss Peter and Paul’s parish in Clonmel and the huge congregation of over 1,000 people (including 60 priests). A Remembrance Mass in Ss Peter and Paul’s church was testament to his popularity. Fr. Ray was also well-known as a stylish hurling wing back, winning a senior All-Ireland medal with Tipperary.

2015 – Death of Soccer star Johnny Fullam (born in Dublin). Full will be recalled in sporting history as the man who abandoned a potentially brilliant career in England to establish himself as one of the most successful players of his generation in the League of Ireland.

2016 – Death of John Horgan. Born in Co Cork, he was a hurling manager and player who enjoyed a successful career as a left corner-back with the Cork senior team.

Image | Aerial photo of Sligo | Photo by Irish Air Corps

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